Superman
by Elriclover
Summary: Edward reflects on life as he rides through Germany in the back of a local cab. a story using the song Superman by Five for Fighting.


Superman

By: Five For Fighting

_I can't stand to fly,_

_I'm not that naive._

_I'm just out to find,_

_The better part of me._

Edward sat in the back seat of the German cab, silently staring out the window, thinking. He never tried to bring attention to himself in his new world. His friend, Alphonse, didn't even believe Ed's stories of his past. He couldn't deny it, he wanted to see Alphonse and Winry and be able to clap his hands to transmute again, but how could he? There was no possible way. But he still kept hope. He still red alchemical books constantly, but they were much different than what he remembered. It was all based on chemistry and turning lead into gold, but Ed kept reading, trying to understand as much as he could.

_I'm more than a bird,_

_I'm more than a plane,_

_I'm more than some pretty face beside a train._

_And it's not easy to be me._

He wasn't an alchemist anymore. It was the hardest fact to handle when you still occasionally tried to fix things by clapping your hands. Alchemy wasn't the same here, but although he couldn't do it, the information he had gathered back in his world never left his mind. It was always sitting in the back of his head, just waiting for the time it would be of use again. But no one understood him as well as he was back at home. It was hard to fit in.

_I wish that I could cry,_

_Fall upon my knees._

_Find away to lie_

'_bout a home I'll never see._

Alphonse seemed to be the only one he could truly trust. He reminded Ed of his own little brother back in Resembool, if his plan even worked. He never knew the outcome of his final transmutation. He hoped it had worked. Sometimes thinking of possible failure left him felling like he was about to cry, but he held it in. He never could break his habit of holding in his feelings. He only had cried a few times in times of great weakness and never in public, but that was all. When the new Alphonse would ask about his past, he always told elaborate stories about his adventures with his brother as a state alchemist. Of course, Alphonse always took it as a fake story, and Edward had to except that. Sometimes it was hard for even him to believe he had come from another world.

_It may sound absurd but don't be naive,_

_Even heroes have the right to bleed._

_I may be disturbed but won't you concede,_

_Even heroes have the right to dream?_

_And it's not easy to be me._

Sometimes he had horrible dreams at night of his last day in his own world. He relived the pain of being stabbed through the chest by Envy and hearing Alphonse screams his name as he faded into darkness. Then he would appear in front of the Gate. The doors would swing wide open and thousands of little arms would begin to drag him in. That is until Alphonse would shake him wake. Those were always awkward moments.

_Up, up, and away, away from me,_

_Well, it's all right._

_You can all sleep sound tonight._

_I'm not crazy or anything._

"Hey, kid!" said the cab driver, reeling Edward back to reality, with a cruel insult none-the-less. "I am 20, you know!" Ed said, a vein beginning to pop out on his forehead. "Oh! Sorry, but I was just wondering what happened to your right arm! It's all mechanical." "Well, I sorta' got into a little work related accident. My left leg is the same way!" Edward explained, lying for his sanities sake. Telling the truth would get him some strange stares for good! "Really? Wow. Makes me feel glad to just be a cab driver! Heh heh!" "Yeah," Edward said, returning to staring out the window.

_I can't stand to fly,_

_I'm not that naive._

_Men weren't meant to ride,_

_With clouds between their knees._

Ed though of what it would be like if this world was run by alchemy. Nothing would change except for the army and some places. He would also be able to get back home. He might have even been home by now! He though of Winry's smile and the joy it would cause when he came home. He thought of how his brother might look. He thought of holding him for the first time in a long while and feeling his heartbeat. It would be great to actually see them all again. But Edward knew hoping alone wouldn't take him there.

_I'm only a man in a silly red sheet,_

_Digging for kryptonite on this one-way street._

_Only a man in a funny red sheet,_

_Looking for special things inside of me._

As Edward stared out the window, he thought of something very interesting. The cab driver would continue to drive his car and would probably still be driving even if there was alchemy here. The people outside on the sidewalk would still be walking outside and minding their own business no matter what new technologies were discovered by using alchemy, especially in this little peaceful town. He figured that this simple thought was reality.

_Inside of me, inside of me,_

_Yeah, inside of me, inside of me._

And with that in mind, Ed soon drifted off to a light slumber in the back of the small cab, dreaming of the green fields of Resembool at home.

_I'm only a man in a funny red sheet,_

_I'm only a man looking for a dream,_

_I'm only a man in a funny red sheet,_

_And it's not easy,_

_Ooh, ooh, ooh,_

_It's not easy to be me._


End file.
